1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to equipment adjusting legs which are used to adjust the gradient and height of the equipment when electronic and electrical equipment or appliances such as washing machines and projectors are set on the floor or desk.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a conventional method often used for adjusting the height of equipment such as washing machines, there is a method of loosening a nut, turning a bolt to adjust the height, and then tightening the nut. However, this method has a drawback that the height adjusting operations are cumbersome.
Accordingly, as an adjusting leg capable of easily adjusting the height, there is an invention described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open (Kokai) Publication No. HEI 2-74298. As shown in FIG. 8, FIG. 9 (in the state of being released), and FIG. 10, the adjusting leg described in such publication comprises: a leg bearing 82 provided in the lower part of equipment 81; a leg 84 provided at the leg bearing in a manner freely movable up and down and always biased downward by a leg spring 83; and an adjusting knob 85 mounted in a freely rotatable manner on the leg bearing 82. Around the circumference of the leg bearing 82 are formed a plurality of slits 86 extending in a vertical direction and partitions 87 which can move outwardly. Around the periphery of the partitions 87 of the leg bearing 82 are formed a plurality of first ribs 88 extending in a vertical direction. The inside surface of the adjusting knob 85 is formed in a polygonal shape, and over the inside surface of the adjusting knob 85 are formed a plurality of second ribs 89 extending in a vertical direction. The outside surface of the partitions 87 of the leg bearing 82 is surrounded by the inside surface of the adjusting knob 85, so that turning the adjusting knob 85 moves the partitions 87, thereby expanding or contracting the inside diameter of the leg bearing 82. The adjusting knob 85 is structured in such a manner that contacts between the first ribs and the second ribs regulate the turning angle of the adjusting knob 85. When the turning angle of the adjusting knob 85 is regulated, the inside diameter 90 of the leg bearing 82 becomes smaller (the inside surface 91 of the adjusting knob 85 forces the partitions 87 of the leg bearing 82 to elastically deform) and the up-and-down movements of the leg 84 are inhibited.
However, with this conventional adjusting leg, the leg shaft is composed of a metal bolt in order to resist any impact (mainly impact in a direction perpendicular to the lengthwise direction of the leg, that is, impact in a horizontal direction) which occurs, for example, when the leg falls off. The head of the bolt is coated with resin by means of, for example, insert molding in order to enhance ground contact stability. It is also necessary to perform secondary processing (such as groove formation) on the bolt for attaching a stopper, and to perform coating according to the color of the equipment in order to enhance the appearance of the adjusting leg. Accordingly, the drawback of such adjusting leg is that it is cumbersome to manufacture the leg using the metal bolt, thereby increasing costs. Another drawback is that the leg which uses the metal bolt is heavy.